Hillcrest principal out following student riot last month
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Hillcrest High School Principal Scott Milczewski (middle) resigned from his position one month after a student protest over a pro-Israel teacher turned into a riot in the halls of the school. Screenshot from DOE
By Ryan Schwach
One month after a student protest over a pro-Israel teacher turned into a reported riot inside the halls of a Jamaica high school, the principal has resigned from his position.
Scott Milczewski, the principal of Hillcrest High School in Jamaica, announced his leaving in a letter to parents on Wednesday, exactly one month after students erupted during the school day in protest over a teacher who had expressed pro-Israeli sentiments.
In the letter to parents, Milczewski said “it is with mixed emotions” that he was leaving his role, Gothamist reported.
“In my fifth year of devoted service to Hillcrest, this is a difficult decision for me to make, but I look forward to pursuing this new opportunity,” he said. “I am grateful that in this new role I will be able to impact and affect teaching and learning in a meaningful way across the city.”
Milczewski will be heading to a role within the DOE’s central office, and his last day at Hillcrest will be Friday, Dec. 22, the last day before winter break, Gothamist reports.
Education Department officials would not comment on Milczewski's leaving, telling the Eagle only that “the principal sent a letter to his school community yesterday announcing his departure.”
The DOE told Gothamist that the superintendent would be announcing Milczewiski’s replacement.
Local Assemblymember David Weprin, who spoke alongside Schools Chancellor David Banks and Borough President Donovan Richards at a press conference following the incident, expressed pleasure with the change of leadership at Hillcrest.
“I am heartened to learn about the leadership changes at Hillcrest High School that were announced today,” he said. “The recent antisemitic rampage by students that targeted a Jewish educator and escalated into a full-blown riot was an utter disgrace. The New York City Department of Education is entrusted with the safety of our students, faculty, and staff.”
“It was clear that a complete breakdown of discipline and transparency had occurred, and I expressed to Chancellor David Banks my complete lack of confidence in the Principal and leadership staff at Hillcrest High School,” he added. “This decision represents a first step in the long road to healing. In the coming days I look forward to connecting with both the new leadership at Hillcrest High School and continuing my conversations with NYC DOE to learn about their action plan for addressing the concerns that I and the Jewish community share.”
The incident began on Nov. 22, after a post from a Jewish health teacher attending a pro-Isreal rally amid the war in the region began to circulate.
Some students organized a protest, which quickly led to, as Banks phrased it, 400 students acting “disruptively during class changing time.” The school’s hallways became crowded and a small number of students damaged school property, including a drinking fountain attached to a wall.
The incident was first reported by the New York Post and quickly became a national story.
While some elected officials in Queens called on students to be suspended, and others expelled, some city officials attempted to downplay the incident and contextualize it.
“The students and staff at Hillcrest deserve the facts to be laid out truthfully,” Banks said at a press conference a few days later.
“This notion that these kids are radicalized and anti-Semitic is the height of irresponsibility,” he said. “I for one will not accept that at all.”
The DOE said that a handful of students were suspended following the incident, but did not say how many.
